Esmeralda

"Charming hotel, great location but NO AIR CONDITIONING - truly impossible to sleep comfortably during a hot spell in a Paris summer time. We ended up ditching our paid up room and paying again for new accommodation at another hotel as it was just unbelievably hot at night (we had room 19 on the top floor). Not worth it in the summer months."

"The quick take: If you’re just looking for a flop house to sleep in, AND don’t plan to spend a lot of time in your room, AND you really want walking-distance access to lots of premium tourist sites, this could work for you. Possibly best for ‘college student in Europe on a budget.’ But if you want to sit in your room comfortably and relax, maybe not. In the spirit of providing a balance perspective, I’ll start with the up side. 1. Location is outstanding, across the Seine river from Notre Dame Cathedral. 2. Bathroom is well appointed. 3. Price was competitively low. (Which could also be stated as… “if something seems like it’s too good to be true, it probably is.”) The down sides This is possibly the most disappointing experience I’ve ever had in a hotel. In my opinion, the website photos are at least misleading if not false advertising, and do NOT reflect the reality of room 12 we stayed in. My pics were taken July 13-14 and have not been edited in any way. At first glance, ( pics 1-2), the room looks quaint, with the wood beams on the ceiling and a great view. But look close. 1. Small room. About 8’ by 15’ feet long, not including entry hall and bathroom. 2. Dirty carpet. See pic … It is long overdue for a cleaning. I kind of did not want to take off my socks. 3. Sad wallpaper with excessive damage and in desperate need of replacement. See pics. Note the curious length of the light switches over the bed … far too high to reach while lying prone. (Pic 6 is a view of the lampshade on the desk. It is broken and very dirty. In my opinion, this is very telling. It would not take much to invest in a new lampshade to address a serious eyesore. 4. Noise. Great location means you will be the heart of tourism in a city that really doesn’t sleep very much. [Granted it was the eve of Bastille Day]. Because it was so warm we had to leave the window open all night and the noise lasted until the early hours of the morning... at least 3 AM."

"There’s nothing like the antique charm of Esmeralda! To my mind there’s no way to beat its character, charm, and history. It’s not the most modern hotel, but we could have stayed anywhere else for that experience. We loved the stone walls, old-fashioned windows, and the winding staircase—even when we were climbing up to the top floor! Let’s say it ended up being good practice for our climb of the Notre Dame bell towers on our last day in Paris. The staff were all very kind and even brought our bags up to our room, which we really appreciated. No AC, but we had a room fan that kept things pleasantly cool. The room was very clean, but best of all was the view of Notre Dame from our window. The Esmeralda is a special place to stay and we’re so glad it was our home for a few all-too-brief days."